Born In Flames
by godoflemmings
Summary: What seems to be a simple job lights a candle that will one day burn so bright, an entire Galaxy will be forced to take notice. Prequel to Colonist background and joint Ruthless/War Hero rep.


Alreeeeeet! I'm giving this fanfiction malarky a go. This is actually my second shot at this, I tried writing a Shining Force fanfic a few years ago and quite frankly, it was awful. So let's just say my self-confidence on this is shaky at best.

Anyway, about this. This is a Mass Effect fanfic, kind of a prequel for a brand new Shepard I've made up specifically for this, who's a cross between my two actual main female Shepards. I wanted to try and write something for the Colonist background, and eventually I'm gonna try and expand this into the Ruthless and War Hero reputations as well. So, it's gonna be quite gritty at times.

That said, I am going slightly left of canon here, in that this Shepard is born on Earth and then moves to Mindoir aged 4. The reason for this is that I wanted her to be a biotic, and I couldn't think of a way to explain that if she'd been born on a colony.

Of course, all feedback, good or bad, will be MASSIVELY appreciated. I want to improve, and to do that, I need the input of you good people who are actually good at this.

So yeah, enjoy!

**Alliance Colony of Mindoir, Attican Traverse, 2170 CE**

_Just keep running. Run as fast as you can, don't look back. Don't stop. Don't think. Do not look back._

The words repeated in her head, over and over, growing louder and louder as she ran. She only knew that she was in an industrial area of Mindoir, though she had never actually seen these streets before, having never needed to leave the residential area of the colony in which she'd grown up. But she had watched in wide-eyed horror as everything she had known burned to the ground within a couple of hours. Alien ships she had never seen before had attacked her home.

Growing up, she often overheard her father's arguments with Mindoir's powers-that-be that the colony needed defences. "_We're right on the edge of the Terminus Systems, without any defence, we're a prime target for Batarian slavers!" _he'd shout during vid calls. But despite his knowledge and experience in these matters, he was never listened to. The young girl always had a dreadful feeling in the back of her mind that there may be some truth in his words.

As a child, she had listened in wonder as her father told her tales of his time in the Alliance and the First Contact War of 2157. With his family safely Earth-based in Moscow, Captain Thomas Jameson had commanded a ship that served in the liberation of Shanxi, under the lead of Admiral Drescher himself. He played a key part in creating the strategy that would eventually lead to driving occupying Turian forces out of the colony, and was hailed as one of the heroes of the operation. However, the death of his best friend and most trusted officer during the ground assault had broken his military spirit, and when the call came looking for an Operations Director at a new farming colony months later, he jumped at the chance for a fresh start on a new world.

Over time, however, his dream of a safe, simple future for his family soured. His responsibilities for the colony eventually grew to include security, and despite his experience in alien matters, his warnings about a lack of protection from outside threats were repeatedly ignored.

And now, in the worst possible way, he'd been proven right, as the alien ships began to descend on the colony with menace. Despite the knowledge she had gained on aliens from her father and the Extraterrestrial Culture class she so enjoyed at school, she had no idea what race these ships belonged to. Her awareness was limited to Council races and those who occupied the Citadel. So when these unfamiliar ships began to descend and aliens she didn't recognise began swarming out and either murdering or subduing everyone in sight, she felt pure, absolute fear.

That was three days ago. Since then, this sixteen-year-old girl had seen more horror than she could ever have imagined. She had seen adults incinerated at the first sign of any resistance toward the invaders. She had listened as children and teenagers were subjected to levels of violence she previously believed were only ever imagined in vids. She had survived where others had not, including her father who, despite their differences, had always looked out for her.

_I love you, Claudia. Always remember that. Whatever disagreements we've had, I will always love you._

Tears began to sting her eyes as she ran, blindly, not knowing where she was going, but unwilling to stop. Remembering the look in her father's eyes as they parted caused a hitch in her breathing. Her mind was already trying to block out the moments in which he was slowly, excruciatingly killed. _I should have stayed, I should have helped. Fuck, he might still be alive if I'd-_

Her train of thought was interrupted by the crack of a pistol shot, impacting the wall just to the right of her head. She ducked reactively and let out a high-pitched yelp, before diving through the window that mercifully appeared to her right.

_Come on, Claudia. You can do this._

The voices of both mother and father spoke to her as she scrambled around the dark room, looking for somewhere to hide. She knew the aliens who had shot at her would follow her in within a few seconds, expecting yet another cornered, whimpering victim holding up the metaphorical white flag. But she knew she had a chance, as long as surprise was on her side. If her rebellious teenage years had taught her anything, it was how to find belief in the darkest of situations.

_Feels like a convenience store. Perfect._

Her eyes getting used to the dark, she looked towards the back of the room, and sure enough, she saw large refrigeration compartments. Allowing herself a hopeful half-smile, she squeezed herself into a space just in time to hear throaty, unnatural alien laughter approaching the window.

Concentrating, she diverted whatever sensory ability she could muster to her eyes. With the light of the burning colony casting silhouettes, she could make out the forms of what she would normally assume to be two large, muscular men. But she knew that these were not men – they were _monsters._

_You people have killed my family. Tortured my friends._

Hatred began to replace fear in her stomach, as the aliens began to tear apart the store, looking for her hiding place. They were shouting loudly in a language she couldn't understand, in voices that caused her stomach to knot. The translator her father had bought her for her 16th birthday obviously didn't work from this far away. Despite her growing rage, she knew she had to wait for her opportunity.

That opportunity came sooner than she expected. A loud, piercing scream came from a building not far away, causing the two aliens to turn around instinctively. She registered the source of the scream, realising with horror that it sounded like a young girl, probably no older than 8. Suddenly, realised this was her chance. As quickly but quietly as she could, she opened the compartment door and stepped out. She was now no more than 20 feet from the two aliens tearing the place apart looking for her, and almost immediately, she allowed her rage to get the better of her.

_Remember. Clench… breathe… and move._

She tightened her fists and her jaw, and took a long, deep breath through her nose as the familiar feeling of electricity began to surge through her body. She was aware of one of the aliens shifting his sight to the other and saying a few words, before the other looked back and laughed, apparently making some kind of joke about the scream mere seconds before. Suddenly, his eye was caught by a crackle of blue light in the corner of two of his four eyes. She barely registered the look of apparent horror on his face before she let fly with a full-force biotic throw, sending both of them flying backward into the side wall of the store with enough power to crush both their skulls under the whiplash they'd suffer.

_I've done it! _She allowed herself a short, breathy, relieved laugh, before the realisation hit her. _Shit, someone would have heard that_. Quickly picking herself up, she ran back out into the street in her previous direction.

She had barely run 30 metres along the street when suddenly, she felt a flare in her brain, causing her to crash to the ground in blind agony and clutch her forehead. She felt deep, crackling pains piercing the muscles all over her body, almost as though she were being stabbed by electrified needles. Everything suddenly became hazy, but somehow she managed to stifle a scream of pain.

_Not now! Please, not now!_

Dragging herself back to her feet, she tried to resume running, but in her dizzy, panicked state, she could barely manage a fast crawl. She registered a trickle of blood coming from her nose.

_Damn it, I'm so close!_

With her body now all but drained of energy, she found herself forced to stop, kneeling on the pavement on all fours. She heard footsteps coming nearer, and managed to look up into four dark, monstrous, unblinking eyes, on a face that sported a horrific smile that her worst nightmares couldn't have conjured. She could offer no resistance as the alien thrust the butt of his assault rifle into her face.


End file.
